Here's M ⊂ S I Q:
PICK OF THE WEEK: Annabelle Chairlegs - "Street Urchins"
WHERE: Austin, TX
FROM: TBD
OUT: TBD
The gritty slack-pop quartet Annabelle Chairlegs are still something of a mystery at this early point in their history - aside from a few demos on Soundcloud, scant details on Facebook, and this recent upload to YouTube, they have yet to see a proper release and some press under their belts. It stands to reason that this will change soon enough, the group having recently played the Gnar Tapes showcase at this year's SXSW and coupling "Street Urchins," their strongest single yet, with a memorably hallucinogenic video. Recorded around singer Lindsey Mackin's hometown of Kearny, NJ - "a really industrial, beautiful place" as she described in an e-mail - the clip follows a panda-masked woman traveling aimlessly while the band rocks out in drag through a trippy color filter. The accompanying song blossoms from a sweet, surfy whisper into a manic, droning scream, all in the compact span of a heavy two-minute pop song. Keep an eye out for a release and a tour this year!
WATCH: Wet Blankets - "Dieter Caught My Bus"
WHERE: Geelong, Australia
FROM: Dieter Caught My Bus 7" on Goodbye Boozy
OUT: Now
"Dieter Caught My Bus" is about as authentic as a punk tune can get these days - it doesn't just feel like a teenage riot because it actually is a teenage riot. Frontman Zane Gardner recently celebrated his 16th birthday and has already dropped a sold out 7" with his band - what have you been up to lately? In a simple, primal vein that brings Coachwhips to mind, the garage-punk power trio (featuring mems. of Ausmuteants & The Living Eyes) plays this driving, uptempo tune relatively straightfaced until a noisy breakdown at the one-minute mark threatens to dismantle the whole thing. The video finds the band miming "Dieter" on a suburban rooftop, intercut with brief shots of dumpster-diving and racing down a hill on a shopping cart. Sympathetic vomiters, proceed with caution.
LISTEN: Gentlemen - "Cholera"
WHERE: Melbourne, Australia
FROM: Gentlemen 7" on Jeth-Row
OUT: Now
Gentlemen have crawled out of the Melbourne sewers to release another batch of relentless noise-punk in following-up on their excellent 2012 LP Sex Tape - a record that has only recently been making the rounds at places like WFMU, Pitchfork, and Boston Hassle. As we were hearing on that last release, "Cholera" is another sickly mesh of towering, corrosive guitar noise, bashed rhythms, and a psychotic vocal snarl. It might be easy to dismiss the sound as male aggression incarnate, but there's something in that howling refrain of "CHOLLLERAAAA" that feels pained and horrified, like the sound of someone's mind grasping for air as the body meets a horrible death. Fans of Drunkdriver and Chat Logs should absolutely jump on this crazy train.
LISTEN: Institute - "Bureaucrat"
WHERE: Austin, TX
FROM: Institute EP on Deranged
OUT: 3/25/2014
OK, serious question: what Texas punk band doesn't have a member of Wiccans in it? Institute is now the fifth good band I've heard that falls under this category (see also: Video, Blotter, Parquet Courts, and Mind Spiders), and I'm sure there are at least a dozen more out there. "Bureaucrat" is my favorite track from this post-punk four-piece's demo, which will be seeing a proper release on Deranged Records in the next couple of weeks. Their sound reminds me a bit of Protomartyr and the Killed By Deathrock comp that Sacred Bones put out last year, but twice as drugged-up. Over gloomy guitars and busy drumming, the song drunkenly murmurs sweet nothings like, "Please have your papers ready as / You approach" with all the authority of a border guard on quaaludes. Dig it below.
LISTEN: Useless Eaters - "Integrated Circuit"
WHERE: San Francisco, CA
FROM: Mother Earth 7" on Jeffery Drag
OUT: Spring 2014
"Integrated Circuit" is not just a fitting title for this new Useless Eaters jam, but a proud announcement: "We have electronics now." While last year's Hypertension was an offering of cold-blooded garage-punk fit with rolling drums and tight, interlocking guitars, this new single suggests that frontman Seth Sutton has embraced the icier textures of synthesizers and drum machines. "Integrated Circuit" is all blown-out motorik beats and coldwave synth moans, holding on to some of their earlier sound with a steady guitar thrum and Sutton's vaguely-British speak-singing hovering at the center. While the sonics have shifted, this band's ability to write a total earworm remains the same. You'll probably keep finding the play button on this one if you're down with groups like NUN, Future Punx, and/or Disappears.
PICK OF THE WEEK: Annabelle Chairlegs - "Street Urchins"
WHERE: Austin, TX
FROM: TBD
OUT: TBD
The gritty slack-pop quartet Annabelle Chairlegs are still something of a mystery at this early point in their history - aside from a few demos on Soundcloud, scant details on Facebook, and this recent upload to YouTube, they have yet to see a proper release and some press under their belts. It stands to reason that this will change soon enough, the group having recently played the Gnar Tapes showcase at this year's SXSW and coupling "Street Urchins," their strongest single yet, with a memorably hallucinogenic video. Recorded around singer Lindsey Mackin's hometown of Kearny, NJ - "a really industrial, beautiful place" as she described in an e-mail - the clip follows a panda-masked woman traveling aimlessly while the band rocks out in drag through a trippy color filter. The accompanying song blossoms from a sweet, surfy whisper into a manic, droning scream, all in the compact span of a heavy two-minute pop song. Keep an eye out for a release and a tour this year!
WATCH: Wet Blankets - "Dieter Caught My Bus"
WHERE: Geelong, Australia
FROM: Dieter Caught My Bus 7" on Goodbye Boozy
OUT: Now
"Dieter Caught My Bus" is about as authentic as a punk tune can get these days - it doesn't just feel like a teenage riot because it actually is a teenage riot. Frontman Zane Gardner recently celebrated his 16th birthday and has already dropped a sold out 7" with his band - what have you been up to lately? In a simple, primal vein that brings Coachwhips to mind, the garage-punk power trio (featuring mems. of Ausmuteants & The Living Eyes) plays this driving, uptempo tune relatively straightfaced until a noisy breakdown at the one-minute mark threatens to dismantle the whole thing. The video finds the band miming "Dieter" on a suburban rooftop, intercut with brief shots of dumpster-diving and racing down a hill on a shopping cart. Sympathetic vomiters, proceed with caution.
LISTEN: Gentlemen - "Cholera"
WHERE: Melbourne, Australia
FROM: Gentlemen 7" on Jeth-Row
OUT: Now
Gentlemen have crawled out of the Melbourne sewers to release another batch of relentless noise-punk in following-up on their excellent 2012 LP Sex Tape - a record that has only recently been making the rounds at places like WFMU, Pitchfork, and Boston Hassle. As we were hearing on that last release, "Cholera" is another sickly mesh of towering, corrosive guitar noise, bashed rhythms, and a psychotic vocal snarl. It might be easy to dismiss the sound as male aggression incarnate, but there's something in that howling refrain of "CHOLLLERAAAA" that feels pained and horrified, like the sound of someone's mind grasping for air as the body meets a horrible death. Fans of Drunkdriver and Chat Logs should absolutely jump on this crazy train.
LISTEN: Institute - "Bureaucrat"
WHERE: Austin, TX
FROM: Institute EP on Deranged
OUT: 3/25/2014
OK, serious question: what Texas punk band doesn't have a member of Wiccans in it? Institute is now the fifth good band I've heard that falls under this category (see also: Video, Blotter, Parquet Courts, and Mind Spiders), and I'm sure there are at least a dozen more out there. "Bureaucrat" is my favorite track from this post-punk four-piece's demo, which will be seeing a proper release on Deranged Records in the next couple of weeks. Their sound reminds me a bit of Protomartyr and the Killed By Deathrock comp that Sacred Bones put out last year, but twice as drugged-up. Over gloomy guitars and busy drumming, the song drunkenly murmurs sweet nothings like, "Please have your papers ready as / You approach" with all the authority of a border guard on quaaludes. Dig it below.
LISTEN: Useless Eaters - "Integrated Circuit"
WHERE: San Francisco, CA
FROM: Mother Earth 7" on Jeffery Drag
OUT: Spring 2014
"Integrated Circuit" is not just a fitting title for this new Useless Eaters jam, but a proud announcement: "We have electronics now." While last year's Hypertension was an offering of cold-blooded garage-punk fit with rolling drums and tight, interlocking guitars, this new single suggests that frontman Seth Sutton has embraced the icier textures of synthesizers and drum machines. "Integrated Circuit" is all blown-out motorik beats and coldwave synth moans, holding on to some of their earlier sound with a steady guitar thrum and Sutton's vaguely-British speak-singing hovering at the center. While the sonics have shifted, this band's ability to write a total earworm remains the same. You'll probably keep finding the play button on this one if you're down with groups like NUN, Future Punx, and/or Disappears.
LISTEN: Life Chain - "Parasites"
WHERE: Halifax, Canada
FROM: No Laughter EP on Konton Crasher/Imminent Destruction
OUT: Spring 2014
Good ol' d-beat: always different, always the same. Life Chain get innovative enough with it on "Parasites," bookending their d-beat blitzkrieg with a crushing high-speed fuck that brings to mind some of their NYC contemporaries like La Misma and Warthog (perhaps fitting that they'll be playing New York's Alright next month, then). Amid the chaotic burn of the guitars and drums, staccato shouts pierce their way through the mix, sounding like Yasuko Onuki from Melt-Banana descending upon the earth and throwing lightning at us all. If you're feelin' the doom, try out the other track from the sampler while you're at it and keep it tuned for the 7" which should be out soon.
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